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Japan Growth Outlook Cut

Goldman Sachs Group Inc. cut its forecast for Japanese growth as consumers remain shy about spending six months after a sales tax increase. The economy may expand 0.1% in the fiscal year ending March 2015, compared with a previous forecast of 0.3% growth, Bloomberg quoted Tokyo-based economists Naohiko Baba and Yuriko Tanaka as saying. The economy will expand 2.9% in the current quarter, less than a previous forecast of 3.8%, they said. Japan’s recovery is being hampered by a protracted slump in sentiment following the tax bump in April, highlighting the challenge faced by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and Bank of Japan Governor Haruhiko Kuroda.